Josh, It looks like our Congaree group was not the only ones to find really big trees.
JP On Feb 27, 11:50 am, Josh Kelly <[email protected]> wrote: > ENTS, > > On February 10th, 2009, Brent Martin, Hugh Irwin and I went on an outing to > Wright Creek in Graham County, NC to investigate a proposed US Forest > Service logging project there. Across the stream from the uppermost logging > unit on Wright Creek we noticed some thick-limbed, emergent crowns. The > riparian area itself had large trees and lacked the cut stumps, skid > trails and vine tangles that charachterized the second growth forests we had > seen that day. > > Crossing the creek, I was impressed with the beauty and elegance of the > old-growth remnant we entered. With a NE aspect at 3300' in a mountain > range that gets 80 inches of rain, the green, lush moss on tree trunks and > boulders was striking. The scattered, huge trees made 2-3 foot diameter > individuals look small. Canopy trees in the stand include northern red oak, > tulip poplar, white ash, buckeye, sugar maple and silverbell. > > The first tree we visited was a 14.2' x127' northern red oak. The straight > bole of this tree is enough to make any lumberman salivate. The next biggy > was a 15.7' in cirumference red oak with a lean and a flared base. Upslope > was a 4'+ dbh white ash that I did not measure. Traversing the slope we > came to a 14.4' x~150' poplar. I shot straight up into this tree with my > range finder and got 48 yards, so it is likely a little taller than 150 and > also the tallest tree in the stand. Within site of the first poplar was an > even larger one. Within 50 ft. I knew it was in the range of the biggest > individuals I have seen. Our taping of this tree put it at 20.6' in > circumference. I did not measure its height, but it was in the canopy which > would put it in the 20x100 club. It is a massive tree, though more ovoid > than columnar, and is not in contention for any volume records. > > Just above this tree was a Forest Service skid trail and the tangle of vines > and saplings from logging in 1968. This 5 acre patch turned out to be > the lowest elevation bit of a 130 acre remnant of old-growth at Wright > Creek. As far as I can tell, everything upstream of 3300' elevation was in > old-growth condition when the tract was purchased by the Forest Service in > 1937. In 1967 and 1968, the Forest Service liquidated almost 1000 acres > of forest that was almost certainly in old-growth condition, most of it > above a 100' waterfall and gorge that blocked access to the > gentle topography of upper Wright Creek. Fortunately, a fragment was left > for the next "entry" into Wright Creek and survives today. The northern > hardwoods forest and hemlock forest above the falls is just as impressive as > the rich cove below the falls and includes many large yellow birch, hemlock, > red oak, and black cherry. > > The 20' poplar is only the second single stemmer I know of outside > the Smokies. Both are from the Santeetlah Creek watershed. The one on > the Poplar Loop has celebrity status while the individual at Wright Creek is > little known up till now. If anyone would like to visit this spot, I will be > leading a hike to it on May 2nd. Details atwww.safc.org. > > Josh > > IMG_0459.JPG > 174KViewDownload > > IMG_0463.JPG > 171KViewDownload > > IMG_0468.JPG > 260KViewDownload > > IMG_0466.JPG > 182KViewDownload --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
